Are You One of Taoism’s 4 Most “Destined” Souls?

As China’s indigenous religion, Taoism has existed on this land for over 1,900 years.

Rooted in traditional Chinese culture, Taoism evolved from Taoist thought systems such as Fangxian Dao (the School of Immortal-Aspirants) and Huang-Lao Dao (the Huangdi-Laozi School). What sets Taoism apart from other religions is its pursuit of "longevity and eternal vision"—it holds that humans can attain enlightenment and become immortals through cultivation.

Meanwhile, "Immortality Tao values life; boundless virtue delivers all beings" is a core tenet of Taoism. Saving and guiding others is not only the responsibility of every Taoist practitioner but also a way of cultivation.

As the saying goes, "Sweet dew does not nourish rootless grass; the Great Dao does not save those without karmic connection." Taoism believes that the following four types of people share the deepest karmic bond with the Dao. Are you among them?

Taoist believers often greet each other with "Ci Bei" (compassion). "Ci" (kindness) encourages people to do good, while "Bei" (mercy) reminds everyone to have sympathy for others. Thus, those with a compassionate heart are people who do good deeds to accumulate virtue and possess deep sympathy.

The Taoist moral text Tai Shang Gan Ying Pian (The Treatise of the Supreme on Response and Retribution) tells us: "Those who wish to become heavenly immortals must perform 1,300 good deeds; those who wish to become earthly immortals must perform 300 good deeds."

Taoism uses this to illustrate that compassion is the foundation of doing good. The purpose of performing good deeds lies in showing mercy to the weak and extending a helping hand to those in need.

Laozi Xiang’er Zhu (Annotations on Laozi for Xiang’er) states: "The Dao grants life to reward goodness and decrees death to deter evil. If you do good, the Dao will follow you; if you do evil, misfortune will follow you." Good fortune, misfortune, life, and death all retribute according to one’s deeds of good or evil.

If you harbor compassion and accumulate virtue through good deeds, you share a karmic bond with the Dao, and the Great Dao will be with you. If you commit evil, you will have no connection to the Dao, and disaster will come knocking.

The Taoist classic Qing Jing Jing (The Scripture of Purity and Stillness) says: "Man’s spirit craves purity, yet the mind disturbs it; man’s mind craves stillness, yet desires ensnare it. If one can always dispel desires, the mind will naturally be still; if one can purify the mind, the spirit will naturally be pure. Then, the six desires will not arise, and the three poisons (greed, anger, delusion) will vanish. The reason people fail to achieve this is that their minds are not purified and their desires are not dispelled."

In modern society, people are entangled by desires for fame, fortune, and status, leaving them unable to calm their minds. Delusional thoughts, greed, and worries in life exhaust both body and mind—those who remain trapped in such states share no bond with the Dao.

For cultivation, there stands an invisible gate: outside lies the mortal world full of temptations; inside lies the mysterious realm of "quietude and non-action." Only by stepping through this gate, distancing oneself from the mortal world, and maintaining a heart of quietude and non-action can one attain enlightenment and realize the true Dao. As the saying goes, "Only through non-action can one clarify one’s aspirations; only through quietude can one accomplish things with lasting impact."

Tai Shang Lao Jun Shuo Chang Qing Jing (The Supreme Lord Lao Tzu’s Scripture of Eternal Purity and Stillness) notes: "The reason all beings fail to attain the true Dao is their delusional minds. Delusional minds disturb the spirit; a disturbed spirit clings to material things; clinging to material things gives rise to greed; greed breeds worry. Worries and delusions torment the body and mind, subjecting one to defilement, wandering in the cycle of life and death, drowning in the sea of suffering, and forever losing the true Dao." The seven emotions and five desires of the mortal world are obstacles on the path of cultivation. Only by eliminating them and maintaining a heart of quietude and non-action can one attain enlightenment and realize the true Dao.

The ultimate goal of cultivation is to attain enlightenment and become an immortal. However, eminent Taoist masters teach us: "If you wish to learn the Tao of immortality and longevity, you must first practice filial piety in the human realm. If you fail to fulfill your duties in the human realm, you can never fully attain the immortal Tao." Even in the pursuit of immortality through cultivation, filial piety in the mortal world must come first.

"Of all virtues, filial piety is the foremost." The kindness of parents is heavier than mountains and deeper than oceans. There is no Taoist practitioner who is unfilial to their parents, nor is there any immortal in heaven who does not respect the elderly. "Those who are unfilial shall not enter the Dao; those who are heartless shall not practice Taoist arts." If you cannot treat your own parents kindly, how can you be kind to the masters who teach you the Dao, or to all living beings in the world?

It is terrifying for a person to lose awe for life, all things in nature, and everything in the world. The great sage Confucius once said: "The gentleman fears three things: he fears the Mandate of Heaven, he fears noble men, and he fears the words of sages. The petty man does not know the Mandate of Heaven and thus fears nothing; he treats noble men with contempt and insults the words of sages."

Only by always maintaining a heart of awe can one become a man of noble character. Awe for the Mandate of Heaven provides one with life goals and principles for conduct. For Taoism, people should not only feel awe for heaven and earth but also for the "karmic retribution of good and evil" (Cheng Fu).

As the saying goes, "All advice urges people not to act in concealment and deceit—for there are deities three feet above your head watching." No matter what you do, you must not act against your conscience; you must also hold a heart of awe. For the deities are watching everyone, and if you harbor evil thoughts and commit wicked deeds, you will eventually face punishment.